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What do you do when your brand new vehicle is already out of commission and you purchased the vehicle new in Georgia? If this scenario sounds familiar to you, then the Georgia Lemon Law might be helpful in your case.

In Georgia, anyone who has purchased, registered, or leased a new vehicle gains protection against recurring defects. A new vehicle is covered under this law for the first 12 months after the day the car was delivered or the first 12,000 miles of use.

If a problem keeps occurring even after numerous attempts to repair it, the car buyer may apply for an arbitration hearing in order to decide if the buyer is entitled to a refund or replacement vehicle.

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Yesterday morning, Nissan and Chrysler concurrently announced that Chrysler will begin selling Nissan cars in South America.

This is not considered the first time that both companies have worked together. In early 2004, an auto part maker affiliated with Nissan began selling transmission parts to Chrysler. (Perhaps that is why I have been receiving so many calls from potential clients complaining about Chrysler transmission defects under the Texas Lemon Law at my Dallas based law office recently?…)

This partnership between Nissan and Chrysler is occuring after General Motors (GM) rejected an alliance offerd by Nissan 15 months ago and after 80% of Chrysler’s share was bought by a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management LP.

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In September, I wrote about the comparison between the Chevrolet Aveo and Tata’s sub $3,000 car. Today, Tata unveiled what is to be currently known as the world’s cheapest car at the Auto Expo in New Deli, India.

The car is priced at $2,500 — the equivalent cost of a modern day laptop, computer desktop, scooter, a moped, or arguably a car that has been designated a Texas lemon car. Of course, for such a low price, one would have to sacrifice convenience features such as air conditioning, power steering, anti-lock brakes, and electric windows. For those who are concerned with the car’s gas efficiency…fret not, the car is estimated to achieve fifty to sixty (50-60) miles per gallon.

As to the answer to the million dollar question of this title? At this time, there would not be a Texas Lemon Law issue or any state lemon law issue in the United States. The reason is because the sub $3000 Tata vehicle is currently not available for sale in North America. Rumors have it that it will most likely not meet or pass US auto safety standards.

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As we say goodbye to 2007, I have compiled a list of top 5 Texas Lemon Law articles I’ve written this year. The purpose of this is to re-cap articles that I find is helpful for consumers who may be stuck with a lemon car.

1) Lemon Laundering — this article defines what lemon laundering is about and also provides a background on how the coin is termed.

2) Tricks that car manufacturers, dealers, and service centers use to avoid liability under the Texas Lemon Law.

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Below is J. Jones’ summary of ConsumerAffairs.com’s recent article on Honda’s airbag deployment defect. Ms. Jones is a law clerk at my law office.

To answer the question posed in the title of this article, I believe that the answer is yes. Most of the time, when there is an airbag related defect in a vehicle, the rebuttable presumption found in the Texas Lemon Law is triggered. The rebuttable presumption states that if the vehicle has been subject to 2 unsuccessful attempt for a serious safety hazard for the same defect, then the vehicle is presumed to be a lemon. I always cringe when I read or write about the Texas Lemon Law serious safety standard because it forces consumers to risk their lives not once, but twice, in order to prove that their car is a lemon.

Article Summary:

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Lemon laundering is the practice whereby car manufacturers resell a vehicle to a third innocent subsequent car buyer after it has been repurchased or replaced from the original car owner under applicable state lemon laws. Here at my Dallas, Texas lemon law practice, I get calls about this very often.

The term “lemon laundering” is believed to be first used by Gayle Pena to describe a personal experience she had with purchasing a pre-owned/used lemon car. The car she purchased was a Chevrolet Suburban with defective brakes and transmission.

Contrary to popular belief, the act of lemon laundering is not necessarily illegal, as states have different and varying lemon laws — it is, however, highly unethical. Unfortunately, car manufacturers are not in the business to be ethical and do it more often than not.

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Jeff Bates, a Texas attorney, wrote an article in the Lufkin Daily News regarding the Texas Lemon Law this past Sunday. The article highlights the three (3) rebuttable presumptions that a consumer is required to meet before becoming eligible for a car repurchase or replacement under the Texas Lemon Law.

The only thing that I would like to add that the article does not mention is the following:

Texas Lemon Law Statute of Limitation: it is important to note that if you are a consumer who purchased a new car and believe that you might have a lemon in possession, then it is important to be mindful of the deadline to file a claim with the Texas Department of Transportation (DOT). Failure to do so might make your vehicle ineligible for the Texas Lemon Law administrative program. Please contact a Texas Lemon Law attorney as soon as possible to determine if the deadline has passed or not.

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Toyota has been a consistent reliable brand to drive, with diversified top selling models such as the Camry sedan, the subcompact Corolla, and the semi-environmentally conscious gas/electric hybrid Prius. Growing up, my family were loyal Toyota fans.

However, recently, I’ve noticed a sharp perceived decrease in the quality of Toyota vehicles. More recalls, more potential client calls under the Texas lemon law, more arbitrations with NCDS, and more complaints about car problems from acquaintances with preowned/used Toyota cars.

On Christmas day (Tuesday, December 25, 2007), Toyota announces that it plans to sell 9.85 million cars worldwide in 2008. According to most analysts, this figure is quite ambiguous due to concerns of a cooling U.S. auto market and a possible recession in the upcoming year.

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The state of Wisconsin is considering a puppy lemon law to protect consumers from puppies or animal with health problems that are unknown to the buyer and were not disclosed prior to the time of purchase by the seller. This will help combat puppy mill establishments and also shift the responsibility over to sellers of puppies and other animals.

This type of law is aimed to avoid a situation where a consumer purchases a puppy/animal and later finds out that the animal has health problems that requires thousands of dollars in subsequent medical bills.

Currently, the Texas Lemon Law does not officially cover animal or puppy lemon laws. I would find it difficult for Texas to mimic or follow suit because the current Texas Lemon Law is being administered by the Texas Department of Transportation to adjudicate defective lemon vehicle claims.

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